Latest Surfski News

Tuesday, 17 October 2023 07:11
“What the bloody hell are you doing here?” I thought to myself a few moments after launching on the brand new V10 4G for the first time. It was getting dark; it was raining; the squalls were lifting sheets of spray off the water… directly offshore. What WAS I thinking? The answer is that I’m a sucker for new toys – and if I get my hands on one, I HAVE to play with it. Damn the weather, full speed ahead… Since then I’ve paddled the boat many more times, in much pleasanter weather. Here’s what I think of this,…
Thursday, 08 June 2023 12:42
East London, South Africa: Angus Warren watched helplessly as the shark’s teeth crunched through the hull of his surfski. “It seemed to go on and on,” he says, “pushing and chomping. I was thinking, why is it not working out that it isn’t food? “I can’t tell how long it took, but I had enough time to shout a couple of times to the others.” The next thing he knew, he was in the water…
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Thursday, 27 April 2023 18:42
CAPE TOWN - Hank McGregor and Josh Fenn convincingly claimed back their Prescient Freedom Paddle title on Thursday in a dramatic race marked by tough conditions and a rain-delayed start.  Conditions were extremely tough - a brisk northwester blowing spray from the big confused chop into the paddlers' faces as they headed out to the island.  Huge breaking surf on the far side of the island ensured a wide line but the wind dropped as the fleet started on the journey back to the finish, making it that much more difficult and energy sapping to catch the runs.  
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Tuesday, 25 April 2023 11:50
Last Friday, however, I paddled with Dawid on a windless autumn evening in Cape Town. Cruising from Fish Hoek to Muizenberg, we paddled together, stopping at all the coves to surf a few waves. In short, the operative word was "fun". This was a different Dawid - off duty - and, well, I've never paddled with anyone so noisy before. Whistling, singing, shouting to folks on shore - yahooing as he caught a wave. Heading home at dusk we crept up behind a group of seals lazing on the surface. Dawid began barking like a five-year-old paid by the bark...until…
Thursday, 09 February 2023 07:39
A look back - aaaaargh! A mountain. Let it go through... A smaller one, with a glimpse of something massive lurking further out to sea. Catch it, catch it! Sprint, sprint, you’re on it, here’s the break zone, keep going, keep going, the roar from behind and the sudden acceleration as a massive foamy caught up to me, keep it straight, keep it straight... Phew. Arrived. Panting. Stop the watch. ok. Made it. Empty the boat, pick it up to prevent it knocking you down. Done.
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Saturday, 26 November 2022 17:16
The South Africans cleaned up today at the most prestigious surfski race in Australia – arguably the most prestigious race in the world - taking five out of the top six places and the entire podium at the Shaw and Partners “The Doctor” in Perth. Defending women’s champion, Kiwi Danielle McKenzie won the women’s trophy.
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Saturday, 19 November 2022 13:01
Gold Coast paddler, Cory Hill, took first scalp in the five-event ocean ski racing series, the Shaw and Partners WA Race Week, winning the inaugural race today, the 24km Fenn West Coast Downwinder from Fremantle, just south of Perth, to Sorrento Beach. In fine conditions with a 16 knot SSW wind courtesy of the famed Fremantle Doctor, the start off Port Beach was intense with the top paddlers in a terse battle to make the first break.   But it was 33-year-old Hill – the 4-times DOCTOR champ who relishes the Perth conditions – who was able to shake the field…
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Tuesday, 16 March 2021 13:54
It’s not easy to catch a rolling, runaway single ski in 30kt of gusting wind – and as they attempted to grab it, Alex and his doubles partner lost their balance and fell into the water. By the time they’d remounted, the single ski was gone – blown away by the strengthening near-gale. They turned and paddled back upwind to find their buddy.
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Wednesday, 03 March 2021 12:08
Accident reports are easy to write when the story ends happily, but this one didn’t and it’s with a very heavy heart that I’m writing this, with a view to learning what we can from it.
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Wednesday, 15 July 2020 09:13
When the NSRI found Duncan MacDonald, he was approximately 6km off Smitswinkel Bay, drifting rapidly further offshore. Gale-force squalls whipped sheets of spray off the waves, reducing visibility almost to nothing. What Happened? Given the small size of the surfski community, there’s always intense interest whenever there’s a rescue. What happened? What did they do wrong? What can we learn from it? Clearly there are lessons to be learnt from any mishap – so here’s a description of what happened, shared with the permission and cooperation of the folks involved in the hope that we might all learn from this…
Friday, 24 April 2020 11:41
Durban – As the continued coronavirus lockdown grips the country, Canoeing South Africa will host a 24 hour Canoeing4COVID-19 event this weekend as a way to raise funds for members of the broader paddling community that have been badly affected by the lockdown.
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Wednesday, 11 March 2020 14:35
“Hey, Rob! Help!” The shouts penetrated the sound of the howling wind and crashing waves – and even through the noise it was obvious from the tone of his voice that something was seriously wrong. I turned and headed back upwind.
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Tuesday, 03 March 2020 14:43
Many paddlers use Personal Locator Beacons, or tracker apps like SafeTrx on their mobile phones. But handheld VHF radios are also a great choice to consider – especially when they’re DSC-capable like the Standard Horizon HX870E.
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Monday, 24 February 2020 12:01
I finally got my hands on a demo Fennix Swordfish S this weekend and did two Miller's Runs in succession to see if I could feel any difference in handling between the 2018 Swordfish S and the new Fennix model.  Conditions were challenging: False Bay was covered in whitecaps, whipped by a combination of a 25-30kt southeaster and small, confused seas.  The result?  I definitely want to spend more time in this boat.
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Thursday, 26 December 2019 10:30
The shark smashed like a freight train into Roger Swinney’s surfski in an explosion of noise and spray, knocking him off into the water.  “I managed to get back on the ski,” he said, “but I fell off again and as I remounted the second time, I saw the swirl and tips of the shark’s fins. “I didn’t see it clearly, but from the force of it and the movement in the water, it looked big!”
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Rob Mousley

Tahiti Surfing... AWESOME PICS

Sunday, 09 November 2008 05:27 |

Oscar Chalupsky sent us some phenomenal photos of himself and Tahitian local Tepa Leopold catching the wave at Teahupoo...  Enjoy!

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Farewell David Scheen

Sunday, 09 November 2008 02:53 |

[Editor: Six weeks ago, David Scheen disappeared during a paddle near his home town Peterborough in Victoria, Australia.  Some of his gear, along with his smashed ski, was found the next day.  Here's a follow up report from The Standard online.]

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And the Anchorman 2008 winner is...

Wednesday, 05 November 2008 14:59 |

The Anchorman 2008 winner is: Dominic Henry of Mauritius.

Dominic Henry - Anchorman 2008!
Dominic Henry - Anchorman 2008!

Draw for the US$20,000 Anchorman takes place tonight

Wednesday, 05 November 2008 05:01 |

The draw for the 2008 Dubai Shamaal Anchorman - worth around US$20,000 - takes place tonight at 8pm South African time.

Here's how it will work.

Anchorman 2008!

"Great Big Scary Shark in Fish Hoek” Email Hoax

Tuesday, 04 November 2008 03:40 |

What motivates email hoaxers?  What assholes.  This 2006 pic of a Great White Shark is doing the rounds via email at the moment.

 

Great White Shark, Fish Hoek
2006 image showing Great White Shark off Fish Hoek Beach. (Copyright Alison Kock)

 

Hopes fading for missing surfskier - Australia

Wednesday, 15 October 2008 03:41 |

Editor: It's with a heavy heart that we publish this story - David Scheen from Victoria, Australia is missing after setting out on a training paddle yesterday.  I met David in Hawaii earlier this year where he paddled the Molokai Challenge - he's a strong paddler, but the story looks grim.  Keep him in your thoughts and let's hope for a positive outcome...

David Scheen
David Scheen, pictured in Hawaii in May this year

Surfski.info 2009 Wall Calendar

Sunday, 14 September 2008 05:00 |

 

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Here at Surfski.info HQ we are very excited to announce the launch of our first Surfski calendar. We have spent hours poring over our image library to narrow our best pictures down to the fourteen awesome shots featured below. These range from Alan van Gysen's in-boat and in-wave shots to Anthony Grotes' spectacular Durban World Cup and big surf photographs. For balance we selected two moody beach sunrise and sunset photos.

The calendar was professionally crafted by a graphic artist using original high-resolution images, and is printed on quality paper.  It opens to display a glossy A4 picture with another A4 page below containing the days of the month.

Dawid and Nikki Mocke – Rescue (Awesome Surf Pics)

Tuesday, 02 September 2008 16:26 |

Dawid and Nikki Mocke were sitting behind the waves breaking on the point near Kalk Bay Harbor when they noticed onlookers yelling and waving at them.  "We thought it was some of our buddies come to watch," said Dawid, "and it was only when I caught a wave in that I saw two people in the water."

Dawid Mocke - storm surf riding
Dawid Mocke catches a giant wave near Kalk Bay (Pic: www.omiphotography.com)

Surfski to the North Pole: Polar Defense Project

Saturday, 02 August 2008 12:54 |

Lewis Gordon Pugh is attempting to paddle to the North Pole - and hopes he won't make it.  This is paddling taken to the ultimate extreme...

Surfski to the North Pole - Lewis Pugh training
Cold weather paddling!

Spanish Surfski – Dawid Mocke Clinics

Tuesday, 29 July 2008 14:17 |

Dawid Mocke is in Spain - sponsored by the "Federacion de Piraguismo de Comunidad de Valencia" - to race and to give surfski paddling clinics.

Spain